1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the synthesis of a novel family of products, which are the pyrido[4,3-b]carbazoles (ellipticines) variously substituted at their top 1. The invention also relates to a process for preparing such products from pyrido[4,3-b]carbazoles themselves prepared by a novel route. In addition, the invention relates to the application by way of medicaments of these novel products, in particular for the treatment of leukemias. Thus the invention relates also to pharmaceutical compositions containing, as active agents, at least one of said products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous studies have been devoted, in the course of recent years, to the family of ellipticine and its derivatives, whose antitumoral activity has been observed. Various processes have been described in the prior art for preparing pyrido[4,3-b]carbazoles (ellipticines). By way of bibliographic reference, may be mentioned, for example, the article of M. SAINSBURY, in Synthesis, 1977, p. 437 et seq. It's still desirable, however, to find new compounds endowed with higher activity or to develop novel routes of synthesis.